Startling Statistics

Did you know that…

• The Super Bowl is ranked as the number two food consumption event of the year, second only to Thanksgiving?
• Americans consume 30.4 million pounds of snack foods during the Super Bowl?
• Americans consume more than 11 million pounds of potato chips on Super Bowl Sunday?
• Americans double their average daily consumption of snacks on Super Bowl Sunday, consuming more than 33 million pounds of goodies in one day?
• The average Super Bowl watcher consumes about 1200 calories during the course of the game?
• An additional $11.8 million is sold in beer prior to Super Bowl Sunday?
• $237.2 million are spent on soft drinks during the week leading up to the Super Bowl?

This year, let’s try to bring down the numbers. Nu-train newsletter readers, America and your body need you!

Statistics courtesy of Nubella.com

Defending your Waistline on Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday can be one of the toughest days of the year when it comes to eating. With the unlimited spread of snack foods, giant hero sandwiches, pizza, wings, and not to mention beer, it can be pretty hard to defend those resolutions that were made just a few weeks earlier. This year, however, with just a little planning, we can easily score big on taste without penalizing our waistlines.

The Game Plan

Prior to Kickoff
First, ensure that you aren’t starving by the time your Super Bowl party starts. Make sure that you eat regular meals (i.e. breakfast, lunch, and a PM snack) before you arrive at your party so that you can perform well at game-time.

The Defense
As a Super Bowl party guest, you will be playing on someone else’s turf, and so you will need to be on the defensive.

• When you get to the party, hold off on hitting the food table. Converse with the other guests, and grab a glass of water to help fill you up.
• Allow yourself a small taste of everything at the party that you want. After that, bench the fattier options, and send in the low-cal replacements.
• Bring something with you. Prepare a healthy dish such as a turkey chili, or arrange a colorful fruit or vegetable platter with a low-fat yogurt based dip.
• Bench the high-cal beverages. Though Super Bowl Sunday may encourage loads of beer drinking, remember that one regular beer contains about 150 calories. Try water, seltzer, or diet drinks instead. If you feel you are missing out on the alcohol, try a wine spritzer (1/2 wine, ½ sparkling water), or even a light beer.

The Offense
If you’re the one throwing the party, you have the home field advantage. Instead of putting out the usual fatty fare, surprise your opponents and slim down the options.

• Though chili has a wonderful healthy base of beans and tomatoes, the beef, sausage, cheese, and sour cream can intercept your healthy eating plan. Try choosing extra-lean ground beef or turkey, or opt for a soy crumble. Try low-fat cheese and/or non-fat sour cream in place of the higher calorie condiments.
• Instead of saucy, fried wings, try oven-frying some boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Cut the breasts into bite size pieces, dip them in egg whites or buttermilk, and dredge them in either breadcrumbs or cornflake crumbs. Bake in the oven and serve with a honey-mustard or barbecue sauce.
• Foot-long heros may be an old standby on Super Bowl Sunday, but the high-fat and high-sodium meats, the cheeses, the oil, and the mayonnaise (not to mention the sheer quantity), can easily add up to hundreds of extra calories. Instead of buying the pre-made sandwiches, make a sandwich platter. Arrange different lean meats like turkey, chicken, and ham. Put out low-fat dressings and mayo, and loads of veggies. Provide a variety of whole grain breads, wraps, and rolls.
• For a low-fat cornbread, use part whole-wheat flour, low-fat or fat-free buttermilk, and canola oil.
• Bake tortilla chips or pita wedges and serve with low-fat dips that use fat-free or reduced-fat yogurt, sour cream, or cream cheese as their base.
• Load your potato skins with salsa and a sprinkling of reduced fat cheese instead of bacon and cheese sauce. Top with a small dollop of non-fat sour cream if desired.
• Order pizza without cheese and ask for extra veggies.
• Put out pretzels, popcorn, and baked chips instead of greasy potato chips.
• Don’t forget the veggies! Put out a big vegetable platter with a variety of cut-up veggies and low-fat dip.
• Provide other drink options aside from beer. Keep plenty of water, coffee, and diet drinks on hand.

Whether you’re at home or away this Super Bowl Sunday, you are now prepared to avoid getting sacked by those extra pounds. Now all you need to do is hope that your football team is as prepared as you are.

Nutritious Eggnog Recipe

With the holiday season comes traditions, family gatherings, and of course, lots of eating and drinking. It’s no wonder that we tend to put on weight during the holidays. Though rich foods like sweet potato casserole and stuffing pack on the calories, we oftentimes forget that our beverages may be sabotaging our weight management efforts as well. One such figure predator is eggnog. Though this creamy beverage is delicious and comforting, one cup can add an additional 350 calories, and who can stop at one? This holiday season let’s make eggnog a friend, not a foe, and trim down the calories.

Serves 6.

Ingredients:
5 cups skim milk
8 oz evaporated skim milk (NOT sweetened condensed milk)
1 cup egg substitute
Sweetener to taste*
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp rum extract
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon

1. In a saucepan, gently heat the skim milk, evaporated milk, egg substitute and sweetener over a low flame, stirring regularly until the mixture has thickened.
2. Remove the pan from the heat. Add in the vanilla, rum, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
3. Cover and refrigerate for 4-24 hours.
4. Pour into 6 cups and sprinkle on additional nutmeg and cinnamon.

Calories: ~130 (You save 220 calories)!

*If you prefer real sugar to artificial sweetener, measure carefully how much sugar you are adding. Each additional teaspoon of sugar adds 15 calories.

Not much of a cook? Try a ready-prepared light eggnog. Vitasoy’s Holly Nog is just 120 calories and Silk Nog is 180 calories per cup.

Tis the Season to Gain Weight?

A study published in 2000 in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that there is indeed weight gain during the six weeks that include Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Nearly 200 subjects were followed for three periods: preholiday (from late September to mid-November), holiday (mid-November to early January), and postholiday (from mid-January to early March). The researchers found that there was a significant increase in weight during the holiday period of about one pound. Though this amount of weight gain is less than what is commonly suspected, it is interesting to note that of the individuals who were overweight or obese, 14% gained more than 5 pounds during this period. In addition, among all the participants, weight gain during the six week holiday season explained over half of annual weight gain. Therefore, it seems that holiday weight gain may in fact be an important contributor to overall weight gain and to the rising prevalence of obesity.

During this holiday season, keep our top ten list in mind, and avoid the extra holiday pounds.

Eating Healthy for the Holidays

Holiday time can be difficult, with lots of temptations and calorie-laden feasts. Between the holiday sweets lying around the office, preparing the holiday meals, and then attending the holiday parties and dinners, it seems almost impossible to avoid putting on holiday weight. But, just because you’re trying to eat healthfully, doesn’t mean that you need to avoid the festivities or accept the extra pounds. With a little planning, it is possible to maintain your weight during the holiday season.

1. Watch your portions! Divide your plate in half. Fill one half with vegetables. Divide the remaining half of your plate in half again. Fill one part with protein and the remaining part with the starch at the meal.
2. Prioritize. Holiday meals usually have lots of foods that you will find appealing. But are there foods that specifically define the holiday for you, i.e., candied yams or honey glazed ham? Pass on the usual calorically expensive fare like chips and dip, and opt for the holiday specific food as your treat at the meal.
3. Avoid skipping meals. Though we are sometimes tempted to “save calories”, this tactic can lead to overeating. In fact, it may even be helpful to eat something healthy before you head out to a meal, such as yogurt or a small meal replacement bar, in order to curb your appetite when high-calorie foods are abundant.
4. Dessert is not a meal. It is a supplement to the end of a balanced meal. Try to choose the fruit or sorbet option. If that dense chocolate cake is calling your name, take a small piece, but then stop. It is ok to treat yourself (as long as it is in moderation), and there is no point in feeling guilty when you are eating something you love. Just remind yourself that there will be even more holiday eating.
5. Increase exercise. Since you will be eating more during the holidays, increase your physical activity. Go out for a stroll after a big meal, or hit up an exercise class the morning before a holiday dinner.
6. Watch what you’re drinking. Don’t waste your calories on beverages. Avoid sodas and juices, and beware of alcohol. Alcohol not only contains empty calories, but it can also further stimulate the appetite. A good festive alternative is some sparkling water with a lemon twist – sparkling water has zero calories.
7. Make healthy choices. Try to choose the steamed or roasted vegetables over the green bean casserole. Choose a baked potato or rice over stuffing.
8. Conversation is calorie free! Talk to the people around you and slow down while you’re eating. If the holiday party is buffet style, don’t rush straight for the food table. Greet your friends and family, and settle in before even looking at the food. Remember, these meals tend to be long. Rather than inhaling your food and then going back for more, try to make your plate last the whole meal.
9. Be a host(ess) with the most(ess). If you’re making the meal, provide some healthy alternatives like baked sweet potatoes, instead of candied yams. At the start of the meal pass the food around once and then place the serving dishes on a side table. This way, you will be less likely to mindlessly take more food during the meal. And don’t forget, you can send home leftovers with your guests. (If you are not the host, but the dinner is pot-luck, bring a healthy dish that you know you can eat, like a big salad or a raw veggie platter with a yogurt or cottage cheese based dip).
10. Maintain. Thanksgiving through New Years is a very difficult time when it comes to eating. Don’t expect to lose weight during this time period or you may be in for disappointment. Rather, focus your efforts on maintaining your weight during the holidays, and on enjoying your time with your friends and family.

Preparing for the Holiday Meal

It’s important to prepare yourself for the upcoming Thanksgiving meal when the national norm is overeating to the point of discomfort. Maybe in prior years you tried skipping breakfast and lunch, and then found yourself gorging on seconds and thirds when the stuffing was passed. When sitting down to a holiday meal, ask yourself what you really want. Try to distinguish between the foods you think you want and the foods you really do want. For example, the mashed potatoes may look good, but Aunt Betty brought them and sometimes she cooks ‘from a box’…so they might not be that satisfying. And the rolls…you can get these rolls at the bakery any day, but Aunt Linda’s corn pudding is a once a year specialty.

Think about how you will feel after the meal. Do you want to feel your stomach in your throat and have to loosen your belt? Or, would you like to feel full but not ‘bursting’? Before you eat is a perfect time to focus on how you want to feel when the meal is done.

When filling your plate with the bountiful spread, visualize your plate in thirds. Divide your foods into categories of protein, carbohydrate, and vegetable, and fill your plate in those proportions. For example, turkey is a protein, braised brussel sprouts would be the vegetable, and carrot soufflé or sweet potato would be the carbohydrate. Life is full of choices, and this meal is just another one. Choose the carrot soufflé or the sweet potatoes, or a half portion of each.

Slow it down. Put your fork down between bites, engage in conversation, and chew your food. During the time between dinner and dessert, why not suggest a family walk around the park? Take a half hour to go outside stretch your limbs. When dessert comes, check in with yourself to see how full you already are. Try filling your plate with fruit salad and including one special treat. It’s less about depriving yourself, and more about focusing on how much you really need. This is a holiday about being thankful. Be thankful that you can get up from your chair without feeling stuffed and uncomfortable, and that you have learned healthful ways of treating your body.

Get Rid of the Excess Food

This eating season from Halloween through to New Years can generate a lot of excess food. From leftover candy to leftover turkey and trimmings to leftover holiday cookies and pie, leftovers are sometimes hard to part with. If you are one of the many who can’t bear to throw out good ‘leftover’ food, don’t fret. Tossing the jello salad into the trash does not directly help feed the hungry, nor does ‘finishing it up’ or ‘getting rid of it’ by eating it. If the only way you know how to get rid of leftovers is by eating them….here are some options that will help keep the pounds off.

First of all, pace yourself. Finishing the pie in one day to ‘get rid of it’ isn’t a great strategy. If you love it, have a small piece a few times during the week, while making sure to eat your normal healthy diet throughout the day. It’s possible to incorporate holiday foods into a healthy diet. Slice turkey to top a big green salad, have a portion of stuffing as your starch at dinner. Have a high fiber cereal and fruit for breakfast and save a sliver of pumpkin pie for a snack.

If you don’t want to eat it, do what everyone else does…bring it to the office! Co-workers will be delighted to partake of your leftover corn pudding. If you really don’t want the temptation of leftovers for weeks on end…do you guests a flavorful favor. Since this is the season of giving, gift your guests with dinner for two. If guests are at your home, they won’t have leftovers. So share the wealth. Go to your local Chinese restaurant and purchase some take-out containers. During the holiday festivities, have the children decorate the boxes with stickers, markers, and ribbons. When the meal is over, hand each guest a box for them to fill with leftovers. It’s a great way to teach kids about giving and moderation. Your guests will be delighted at the thought, and you will have put your leftovers to good use.